Chapter 22

Chapter 22 Buying People

The second day.

　　Qin Yu had just walked into the office when Old Cat came looking for him: “What are you up to?”

　　”Old Hei said a couple of things to me before he died, asked me to get his pension approved and send it to those two kids he was raising.” Qin Yu replied while drinking water: “I just finished the report, about to send it up.”

　　”Ah.”

　　”You lost three on your end, don’t you need to handle that?” Qin Yu asked on his own initiative.

　　”Someone’s taking care of it, they’re in contact with the families of the fallen colleagues right now.” Old Cat replied with his head down: “I don’t like that kind of occasion, so I didn’t go.”

　　”Ah.” Qin Yu nodded.

　　”Hey, you free in a bit?” Old Cat suddenly asked.

　　Qin Yu was caught off guard: “Still just interrogating those two lackeys, nothing important.”

　　”Then come with me to Qi Lin’s place.” Old Cat deliberately put on a casual, carefree act: “He got transferred to logistics, no more field allowance, his pay’s going down too… I’m worried the guy might do something stupid and hang himself or whatever.”

　　After spending some time with him, Qin Yu had already figured out that Old Cat just had a sharp tongue, sometimes saying things with no regard for how others felt, but deep down he always knew exactly what he was doing. He probably knew he’d gone too far with what he said at the breakfast stall yesterday, so he cooked up this little scheme. But going to Qi Lin’s place on his own felt a bit awkward, so he came to drag Qin Yu along.

　　”Lunch break then, I need to go check on the interrogation at Zhu Wei’s place in a bit.” Qin Yu glanced at the wall clock and replied.

　　”Alright, I’ll come get you at lunch.”

　　”Sure.”

　　……

　　The moment the lunch bell rang, Qin Yu hopped on Old Cat’s electric scooter and headed to Qi Lin’s place.

　　Truth be told, anyone working at the police bureau was doing pretty well for themselves in this era, at least by District 9 standards they were solidly middle income. Dangerous as it was, it was still an iron rice bowl job with a fixed monthly salary. Even so, Qi Lin’s life was incredibly hard. His home was in the slums on the edge of Black Street, where the vast majority of people had no steady work. The younger ones were still okay, at least they could do some physical labor and scrape together a meal, but the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled had it rough, some of them genuinely unable to work. The Songjiang government didn’t have enough resources to provide relief rations either, so people actually starved to death here. Crime rates were extremely high, and the constant turnover and churn of people was just a fact of life.

　　The reason Qi Lin lived in a place like this came down to money. Housing was cheap here, electricity and water were rationed by time slots at night, and basic living costs were very low, so he could squeeze out a bit more to support his family. That was also why he’d freeload at the bureau whenever he could, even if he got off early he’d stick around until after dinner before leaving, and he’d even bring his laundry to the bureau to wash… all of it just to save a few miserable coins.

　　After Qin Yu stepped into the small courtyard of Qi Lin’s home, he turned to look around. The courtyard was square-shaped, roughly three to four hundred square meters, but most of it belonged to the landlord. They had only rented out two low, cramped rooms at the entrance to Qi Lin on a long-term basis. The two rooms faced each other with a wall in between and an iron gate… People who didn’t know better might find this layout strange, but those who did understood it was the landlord’s way of keeping an eye on tenants, making sure they didn’t get sticky fingers, with the iron gate meant to be locked at night. But Qi Lin had lived there long enough that the landlord probably knew what he did for a living, so they’d loosened up, leaving the iron gate open all the time as a sign of respect…

　　As the two entered the courtyard, they looked up and saw Qi Lin sitting gloomily on the doorstep, staring into space.

　　”What are you doing?” Old Cat rushed over and asked.

　　Qi Lin startled and stood up: “What are you two doing here?”

　　”Checking if you’re dead yet.” Old Cat’s greatest talent was never saying anything nicely.

　　”Come on, get inside.” Qi Lin was the kind of person who was best at forgetting conflicts and awkwardness. He didn’t say a word about yesterday, adjusted his mood quickly, and waved the two of them inside with a grin.

　　”Where’s your mom?” Old Cat asked.

　　”My mom’s lying down in the room across the way, my sister’s next door doing some odd jobs for someone, she’s not home.” Qi Lin smiled: “Come in and have some water.”

　　”No thanks, let’s go see your mom.” Old Cat had brought some food, specifically prepared for Qi Lin’s mother.

　　Qi Lin was silent for a moment, then shook his head: “Don’t bother.”

　　”What’s wrong?” Qin Yu asked.

　　”We had a fight.”

　　”Damn!” Old Cat cursed when he heard that: “Taking out your frustration on your own mother? How old are you, can you get your act together?!”

　　”Relax, she’s the one taking it out on me.” Qi Lin let out a sigh: “Out of nowhere she’s demanding I bring home a daughter-in-law. I mean… I’m about to get transferred to logistics, making over a hundred less a month, barely surviving as it is, where am I supposed to find her a daughter-in-law?”

　　”Why’s she suddenly want you to get married?” Old Cat asked curiously.

　　Qi Lin hesitated for a while, then waved the two of them inside and started explaining what had happened.

　　Qi Lin’s mother had liver disease, which had been dragged along without the money for proper treatment, until it had now developed into a syndrome with major organ deterioration, and her days were clearly numbered. The old woman wasn’t educated, and the family had been through one hardship after another. She probably didn’t have many wishes before she passed, just wanted Qi Lin to get married so she could see a descendant before she closed her eyes… Qi Lin also understood the deeper reason behind it, the old woman just didn’t want him spending any more money on her, wanted him to hurry up and settle down with a wife.

　　Inside the room.

　　Qin Yu listened to Qi Lin finish and said nothing, not knowing what advice to give. Old Cat thought it over for a while and asked: “Even if you want to find a woman, you need to be prepared. She’s suddenly asking for a daughter-in-law, where are we supposed to find one on short notice?”

　　”She’s already made arrangements, the wife of Old Dong next door found a middleman. My mom wants me to pay to marry someone. But you know my situation, I just got penalized, my income’s already down, and who knows what things will be like in logistics going forward…” Qi Lin looked full of worry.

　　Old Cat listened to Qi Lin finish, thought for a while and said: “Buying one works too.”

　　”Stop messing around.” Qi Lin waved his hand: “What if my punishment is serious and I can’t stay at the bureau, what do I do then?”

　　”They won’t strip your badge,” Old Cat said with his head down: “I’ll make sure you keep your job at the bureau no matter what.”

　　Qi Lin froze when he heard that.

　　”Give it to me straight, is the old lady really not going to make it?” Old Cat asked quietly.

　　Qi Lin was silent for a few seconds, then let out a long sigh: “No cure, just maintenance, which means deterioration… hard to say how long.”

　　”Then get yourself a wife.” Old Cat said through gritted teeth: “It’s time you got married anyway, you can’t be a grown man running home every day without anything to show for it, having someone to look after things will help you focus on work too.”

　　”But I don’t have the money…”

　　”Hold on.” Old Cat dropped that and turned to call out to Qin Yu: “Come outside with me for a sec.”

　　”Old Cat, you don’t have to.” Qi Lin immediately stood up.

　　Old Cat pointed at Qi Lin: “I told you to wait, so wait.”

　　Two minutes later, outside the door.

　　Old Cat puffed on his e-cigarette and said to Qin Yu with his head down: “You got any money?”

　　Qin Yu blinked: “I can lend him five hundred at most.”

　　”That’s not enough.” Old Cat shook his head.

　　Qin Yu replied without hesitation: “That’s the most I can do.”

　　Old Cat raised his head and said word by word: “If Qi Lin can’t pay you back right away, I’ll pay you back before Christmas.”

　　Qin Yu looked at Old Cat with some surprise, thought it over carefully for a few seconds and replied: “I’ve only got fifteen hundred left total, I’ll give you thirteen hundred, I’ll keep two hundred for food.”

　　”Thanks, brother.” Old Cat patted Qin Yu on the arm.

　　”Hey, I want to ask,” Qin Yu blinked, genuinely curious: “If Qi Lin can’t pay me back, what are you going to use to pay me?”

　　”I’ll go sell silver on Tuzha Street if I have to.”

　　”…You’re killing me,” Qin Yu broke down: “I don’t want to lend it anymore.”

　　”It’s decided.” Old Cat laughed and charged back into the room, calling out: “Qi Lin, get someone to make contact, the two of us scraped together thirty-five hundred for you, figure out the rest yourself.”

　　Qi Lin stood in the rundown room, staring at the two of them for a long moment, then bowed deeply: “I… I… I’ll definitely pay this back.”

　　……

　　Yes, Qi Lin didn’t want to go against his mother’s wishes either, because he knew this was probably her last wish.

　　At three in the afternoon, Qi Lin with a small fortune tucked around his waist, rode out of Songjiang city together with Qin Yu and Old Cat, heading to Beitai Living Village.

　　The vehicle passed through Songjiang, frozen solid for years now, tires crunching over the white snow, and stopped on an unnamed dirt road. The three of them walked three kilometers to the entrance of Beitai Village and made a phone call.

　　After waiting about half an hour, a woman in her fifties wrapped in a military coat, cheeks flushed red, came over and asked: “Here to buy someone?”

　　”That’s pretty blunt,” Old Cat replied, not too pleased: “Looking for a wife.”

　　”Follow me.” The woman dropped that and turned to leave.

　　The three followed her around the rundown flat-roofed housing area and into a drafty farmhouse.

　　The woman yanked open the iron door and pointed at the dozen or so people of various ethnicities sitting on the floor inside: “Black ones, white ones, got them all, as long as the money’s right, anything’s negotiable…”

　　Qin Yu stood at the doorway and covered his nose: “Qi Lin, you go in and pick.”

　　”Do they all have residency permits?” Old Cat asked, pretending to know what he was talking about.

　　”Brother, if they had residency permits would I be introducing them to you?” The woman rolled her eyes: “Wouldn’t it be easier to just pick someone up on Tuzha Street?”

　　”…You really know your stuff, don’t you, ma’am.”

　　”Damn,” the woman said with a curl of her lip: “Who doesn’t have a story these days.”

　　Old Cat had nothing to say to that.

　　The woman patted Qi Lin on the shoulder: “No need to be embarrassed, little brother, it’s just business, customer comes first. Go in and take your pick, here’s a flashlight, those dark-skinned ones are hard to see, shine some light on them…”

　　Qi Lin was genuinely a bit embarrassed, standing at the doorway looking a little stiff.

　　”Bang!”

　　Old Cat kicked Qi Lin straight into the room: “Hurry it up, it’s almost dark.”

　　Qi Lin blinked, then stepped inside.

　　……

　　On the other side of town, a shadowy figure glanced furtively around, then stepped up to the window of Qi Lin’s home and called out softly: “Qi Lin, Qi Lin, you home?”

　　A burst of hurried footsteps came from behind, startling the figure, who reached down and pulled out a sawed-off shotgun tucked inside their clothes, turned to look, and realized it was just someone passing by.

　　Beads of sweat formed on the figure’s forehead. They scanned the inside of Qi Lin’s room one more time, and seeing no one there, furrowed their brow and left.